BeiGene, a global biotechnology company, will build a new manufacturing campus and clinical research and development (R&D) centre in Hopewell, New Jersey (NJ), US.
The plans for the new facility were announced in August 2021. BeiGene acquired a 42-acre site at the Princeton West Innovation Campus from Lincoln Equities Group, a real estate company, in November 2021 for the development of the project.
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The site previously hosted a life sciences campus of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). Lincoln Equities Group and H.I.G. Realty Partners bought the site from BMS in 2020.
The initial phase of construction of BeiGene’s new manufacturing and R&D centre is planned to begin in 2022, and will be finished between 2023 and 2024.
BeiGene is expected to hire hundreds of new employees in the area to support clinical research, development, regulatory, pharmacovigilance, and manufacturing requirements.
Location of BeiGene’s Manufacturing and Clinical R&D Centre
The Hopewell site was selected because of its central location and proximity to pharmaceutical research, development, and manufacturing expertise.
Infrastructure at the existing site
The Princeton West Innovation Campus houses nine main buildings that comprise clinical production, plug-and-play biological labs and office space, and standalone R&D support space. The buildings also feature storage facilities, and a data and command centre.
The site, with more than one million square feet of developable land, will provide future expansion potential for BeiGene.
Details of BeiGene’s new manufacturing and clinical R&D centre
The facility will house 400,000ft² (37,161m²) of commercial-stage biologic pharmaceutical manufacturing space, and the BeiGene centre for Pharmacovigilance Innovation.
BeiGene will use the site to pursue its plan to develop a flagship manufacturing and clinical R&D facility in the US. The facility will also help the company expand and diversify its global supply chain while furthering its plans to enhance the accessibility of treatments to patients globally.
The state-of-the-art facility will feature a biologics capacity of up to 16,000l, as well as clinical R&D and office space.
The manufacturing facility will be used to initially produce biologics and possibly small molecule cancer therapies. It will focus on the development of novel cancer medications.
Marketing commentary on BeiGene
Headquartered in Beijing, China, BeiGene has a team of 6,900 employees across five continents. The Hopewell facility will be the company’s second location in the state, following the Ridgefield Park office.
The company is building a small molecule medicines manufacturing campus in Suzhou, China, and a state-of-the-art large molecule biologics facility in Guangzhou.
The two Chinese plants are designed to comply with good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The first phase of construction of the Suzhou plant is planned to be completed in 2023 while the Guangzhou facility is expected to be completed and GMP-ready by the end of 2022.
BeiGene has three approved medicines that are marketed in different countries. The BTK inhibitor Brukinsa is marketed in the US, China, Canada, and other international markets while the non-FC-gamma receptor binding anti-PD-1 antibody Tislelizumab, and the PARP inhibitor Pamiparib, are marketed in China.
Tislelizumab was approved by the NMPA as a second-line treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) on 15 April 2022.
Contractors involved
DPR Construction, a commercial general contractor and construction management firm based in the US, was selected as the construction manager for the project.
IPS-Integrated Project Services was appointed as the architectural and engineering firm for BeiGene’s state-of-the-art facility. It is delivering the contract in partnership with Meyer Design, a major architectural and interior design firm based in the US.
